Arsenal’s title hopes are over, and followers will hope that reasonably than their finest likelihood being gone, that is only the start of an thrilling period on the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners weren’t too distant from a very excellent Manchester Metropolis aspect, and there appears one apparent flaw to repair for Mikel Arteta’s males to come back again as extra severe title contenders subsequent season.
Declan Rice could also be Arsenal’s prime goal in what is predicted to be an aggressive summer time within the switch market, as Ben Jacobs wrote in his recent CaughtOffside column, however there’s absolutely another person who must be proper on the prime of Arteta’s record.
That participant, is Napoli centre-back Kim Min-jae. The South Korea worldwide has been one of many gamers of the season in Europe’s large 5 leagues, enjoying a starring function alongside Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as Napoli gained their first Serie A title in 33 years.
Unsurprisingly, there’s now loads of reported curiosity in Kim, with latest experiences from Italy, cited and translated by Sport Witness, claiming that Manchester United are one of many golf equipment displaying the strongest curiosity within the 26-year-old, who could have a launch clause of round €50million this summer time.
On this market, that’s an absolute cut price, and it’s a means for Arsenal to repair an issue place with out spending a fortune. Arsenal have conceded 42 league targets thus far this time period, solely six fewer than final season and with two video games nonetheless to play. At dwelling specifically, their defensive file is fairly stunning, with solely 5 groups, together with already-relegated Southampton, having a worse file in that division. If Arsenal can repair that on a budget with one of many prime defenders within the sport, making Gabriel Magalhaes their backup possibility as an alternative of Rob Holding subsequent season, then absolutely it’s an absolute no-brainer.
Rice, against this, would seemingly value greater than double that and wouldn’t be sufficient on his personal to offer that defence the safety it wants from midfield. He may actually be an improve on Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka, however Arsenal’s latest collapse in kind coincided with Saliba’s damage, and the dearth of alternate options in that division is what must be maintaining Arteta up at night time. It actually spooked the remainder of the Arsenal group in some key moments this season, with the gamers trying like they knew they had been enjoying alongside a significant legal responsibility in Holding, who’s such a down-grade from Saliba that it’s a reminder of what completely different planets Arsenal and Man Metropolis have been working on this season, with Pep Guardiola in a position to title the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and John Stones on the bench at Everton yesterday with out even a touch of a drop-off in high quality.
Josko Gvardiol is one other prime centre-back who Arsenal may do nicely to take a position a major chunk of their price range in, however he’d be more expensive than Kim, and lacks that title-winning expertise that the South Korean has simply skilled with Napoli, who, like Arsenal, had been trying to finish a decades-long wait to lastly win the title once more.
Man Utd may in all probability additionally do with strengthening in defence this summer time, however Arsenal want to make sure they are often fast and beat them to this signing, or else Erik ten Hag’s aspect shall be a really completely different prospect and a extra severe menace in subsequent season’s title race. In addition to beating them on the pitch, Arsenal have to be ruthless off it, to ensure they get the signings that their rivals additionally want first.
We’ll should see how a lot Arsenal can spend this summer time, and in a great world they’d actually get each Kim and Rice, but when touchdown the previous means they should search for a less expensive possibility than the latter, then so be it; they can’t go into one other marketing campaign with out fixing their defence or this season actually will simply be a flash within the pan.
